UAE Resumes Limited Outgoing Commercial Flights

In a small sign of hope amid the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the United Arab Emirates has resumed, on a limited basis, outgoing commercial passenger flights. It comes two weeks after Abu Dhabi banned all air travel to and from the Gulf state. Emirates and Etihad have reopened the skies to dual citizens and foreign residents wishing to leave the country, although they may not return until mid-April at the earliest. In a statement, Emirates, the largest carrier in the Middle East, announced that it had already conducted flights to London and Frankfurt. The state-run company said it intended to fly to London four times a week and three times weekly each to Brussels, Paris, Zurich and Frankfurt. For its part, Etihad wrote on its Twitter account that over the next two weeks, it will operate seven flights to Seoul, five to Singapore, six to Manila and two to Jakarta. The UAE as of Monday was reporting 2,076 coronavirus cases and 11 deaths. Some 10 million people live in the country, 90% of whom are expatriates.